Gae Aulenti (1927-2012)

iGuzzini is the Triennale’s technical partner for the staging of a retrospective dedicated to Gae Aulenti, a stand-out figure in the panorama of contemporary architecture. 

In the early 1990s, the company, together with the architect, devised the industrial production of a luminaire that would become a design classic: the innovative Cestello projector. 

In 1983, she was entrusted with the project for transforming Palazzo Grassi in Venice into a gallery for temporary exhibitions and, together with the lighting designer, Piero Castiglioni, her trusted collaborator, she set about creating lighting solutions that could not be achieved with products that existed at the time. For Palazzo Grassi, they designed a completely new concept of indoor luminaire inspired by stadium floodlights. The result was Cestello, a compact group of projectors that can be adjusted individually and do not require tracks. Cestello was initially produced in an almost craft fashion for the specific number of fixtures required to light Palazzo Grassi, but during a visit to Venice, iGuzzini immediately recognised the product's groundbreaking innovation, effectiveness and flexibility. From that moment on, the company along with Gae Aulenti and Piero Castiglioni embarked on an engineering and industrialisation project that, in 1993, turned Cestello into a mass-produced product that became extremely successful in the years that followed. 

iGuzzini is the lighting partner for the Gae Aulenti (1927-2012) exhibition at Triennale Milano. This has involved working together with the Tspoon studio to supply the technical solutions needed for the show’s staging lighting which includes an immersive and engaging exhibition path that guides the visitor through 13 of the architect’s most important creations, reproduced on a scale of 1:1 and enhanced by models, drawings and vintage furnishings. 

The ‘Reaching the Sea’ section is illuminated by iSign luminaires installed on the ceiling behind curtains to create a gentle, diffuse light effect. 

This is followed by a reproduction of the 1968 Olivetti Showroom in Buenos Aires, where recessed Reflex luminaires (Ø 125 mm) have been positioned on the ceiling instead of the original fixtures that could not be found. 

For the area dedicated to Fiat Showroom in Zurich, where semi-recessed luminaires were used that protruded slightly from the ceiling, our solution was to use the parabolas of certain iGuzzini luminaires, fitted with lamps the staging designer decided were closest to the originals. 

For the section featuring the “Christo alla Rotonda della Besana” exhibition curated by Gae Aulenti in 1973, we supplied Underscore 15 luminaires with a high profile and opal screen for backlighting the ceiling. This solution was chosen to create a sensation of gentle, diffuse light, with a colour temperature of 3000 K, that is used in all the exhibition rooms. 

The visitor path also passes through a reproduction of the central room at the Musée d'Orsay, where classical sculptures are alternated with benches. Here the lighting is provided by Palco projectors that are part of the permanent installation at Triennale. 

The Cestello luminaire is used in the section where part of Palazzo Grassi is reconstructed. In this case we lent eight 12-unit Cestello luminaires that were produced for this specific installation. These have been fitted with spot and medium optics. In the section dedicated to Spazio Oberdan, 4-square unit Frame luminaires with LED lamps have been used. 

The exhibition ends with a 1:1 scale reproduction of Perugia airport where, as per the original, two 4-rectangular unit Cestello luminaires are installed in the building’s structure. This required a special version of the luminaire, as the industrially produced one was track-installed.